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How to Format Text Headers and Sections in Obsidian Notes

Obsidian is a powerful note-taking app that uses markdown formatting to allow you to easily structure and format your notes. Here is a guide on how to effectively use headers, sections, and other markdown formatting to organize your Obsidian notes.

Why Use Headers and Sections

  • Headers (e.g. # Header 1, ## Header 2) allow you to break up your notes into logical sections, making them easier to navigate and read. Headers also generate a table of contents for quick navigation.
  • Sections created with headers or horizontal rules (—) let you collapse or fold parts of your notes to hide detail and provide an overview.
  • Proper use of formatting like lists, bold, italic, blockquotes makes your notes more scannable and organized.

Creating Headers

  • Start a header by adding 1-6 # symbols before the header text. More # symbols make lower level headers: Top Level Header Second Level Third Level
  • Obsidian will apply heading size and formatting automatically.
  • Add a space between the last # symbol and header text.

Linking Headers

  • You can directly link to headers in other notes by adding #header-name to the note link: [[My Note#Header To Link To]]
  • Linking to headers allows you to embed specific sections of other notes.

Horizontal Rules

Add a horizontal rule by typing 3 hyphens on a new line:

Horizontal rules can visually separate sections similarly to headers.

Folding Sections

  • In Edit mode, click the arrow next to a header or horizontal rule to fold (collapse) the section under it.
  • Folding allows you to hide detail and view just the section titles.
  • This provides a quick way to get an overview of the structure of a long note.

Basic Text Formatting

Here is a quick guide to applying other basic text formatting with markdown:

  • Bold – **bold text**
  • Italics – *italicized text*
  • Strikethrough – ~~strikethrough text~~
  • Inline code blocks – `inline code`
  • Links – [link text](https://example.com)
  • Quotes – > quote text

Lists

  • Bullet lists (unordered lists):
    • List item 1
    • List item 2
      • Nested item
  • Numbered lists (ordered lists):
    1. List item 1
    2. List item 2
      1. Nested item

Images

  • ![alt text](image url)
  • Images can be uploaded attachments or externally hosted

Code Blocks

Fenced code blocks with language syntax highlighting:

import module

print('Hello world!')

Tables

| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|-|-|-|
| Row 1 | Data | More Data |
| Row 2 | 123 | 456 |

Tips for Organized Notes

  • Use a consistent structure with headers and sections for similar notes.
  • Put key points first in bold or large text.
  • Use liberal formatting for scannability.
  • Link notes extensively to build a web of ideas.
  • Use tables for structured data vs paragraphs.
  • Include images and diagrams for visual context.
  • Use checklists for tasks and action items.

The use of headers, sections, formatting, links, and other markdown elements allows you to create clean, structured, scannable notes in Obsidian. This builds a powerful system for organizing knowledge and ideas.

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